The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JULY 8, 1890. POLITICAL NOTES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2069, 8 July 1890, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JULY 8, 1890. POLITICAL NOTES.

Mr Rhodes has made a speech in Parliament. Let every one remember it. It is a matter of great importance. He moved the adjournment of the debate one night, and went home to prepare a mighty effort, and next day he made a speech. Mr Rhodes has great contempt for great speakers. Men who have a stake in the country are in his opinion the only men fit to govern. He thinks speaking capabilities very sour grapes indeed. But he has spoken —let not that be forgotten—and has said that he thinks very little of the Government, but prefers them to a Liberal Government, headed by Mr Ballance. Mr Rhodes rose to the occasion. Many persons in his own district wanted land, he said, but they could not get it. He was always opposed to Government buying land, but if elected again he would not object to a little being done in that way. That is just it—'' If elected again." Roll stuffing cannot be carried on now ; there is no Washdyke or Mackenzie Country in Geraldine; Jack is as good as his master ; one man has only one vote, and so on. Mr Rhodes promised the electors last time he was ready to buy land for village settlements " near where there was work." He has been three years in Parliament, and never found out where the land, near where there was work, was. In 1888 the Government brought- in a proposal to set aside £IO,OOO for the purpose of providing homes for working men in Canterbury. All the Canterbury members, with the exception of Mr Rhodes and gjp John Hall, voted for it. Mr Rhodes will come to the working men of Canterbury now with an oily smile and ask them to vote for him, after having voted against the only attempt that has been made to benefit the working man in three years. Does Mr Rhodes really expect that after having struck so cruel a blow at the working men as this they will vote for him ? Does he not think they have j been fools long enough ? Mr Rhodes j also said he thought a block vote j would be given in favor of the rail-, ways being taken over by the Govern-1 ment from the Commissioners again, but in Fairlie Creek the other day he i said he would be against such a proposal. Mr Rhodes is evidently in a tremendously anxious state of mind to see how he can run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. He knows , there is an election coming on; he knew« that a great change has come over working men for the last three years; he knows now that the working men are beginning to s.ee that if they stick together they can do what they like. Mr Rhodes knows this, and is consequently repenting on his death in the hope that that, together with the power of the purse and oily ; smiles will again gull a long suffering and a£ten gulled people. He will find it out beiom long.

A briefless barrister has often been heard of, but a judge without a salary is & rare animal. New Zealand enjoys the distinction of having a judge without a salary, at present sitting on the Snpreme Court Bench in Nelson in the person of the newly-appointed Judge Edwards. The scandalous conduct of the Government in appointing him has been met by Parliament in a proper spirit. The Bill for validating his appointment was introduced last Priday, but the House refused to allow it to be read a first time, and it had to be postponed. This is most extraordinary and shows the complete unfitness of the Government to hold office, Never, perhaps, m the history of parliamentary

institutions has a Government been refused permission to read a Bill for tbe first time before, and the Government that puts up with such a terrible slap in the face is uselessly weak and vacilatiag. Judge Edwards was undoubtedly appointed in order to prevent the possibility of Judge Ward being raised to the Bench. It is a disgustingly disgraceful piece of business, and has been met in a proper spirit by the House.

There is a question involved in this matter of Judge Edwards' appointment of a very serious nature. He is now sitting as Judge in Nelson, and if the Government had no right to appoint him he has no right to be in the position he now fills. His acts as a Judge will be illegal, and the next thing that will be required is a Bill to validate his judgments: The present Government has all along attempted to corrupt the fountains of justice with regard to Judge Ward and this appointment. They could not be guilty of a more serious crime, and they ought to be punished by immediate expulsion from office.

In the proceedings of Parliament during she past few days true Liberals will find a lesson which they ought to study. In all the debates no one is enthusiastic in their support of the Government. What all say is: that they are keeping the Government in power in order to keep Mr Ballance out of it. 'lhis is what Mr Rhodes said, and what Mr Bryce said, and Mr Scobie McKenzie said. All that is troubling them is the fear of Mr Ballance coming into power. Now what has Mr Ballence done wrong ? Simply that while he was Minister of Lands he settled large numbers of people on it and prevented dummyism. That is all that is against him. He is too Liberal for the present Parliament.

The Christeburch Press brags and boasts about the large area of land that has been settled during the last three years, and challenges anyone to show better results. No one will attempt to dispute that a large area of land has been disposed of by the G-overnment, but that is not the question. Ha? the land bean settled? A writer, signing himself "No Dummy," in a letter in the Timaru Herr'd says that of all the land disposed of in South Canterbury only three new homes will be bpilt, whereas there ought to be 300 home, Those who had more than sufficient land already now have more. Mr W. P. Reeves in his recent speech io Parliament pointed out that large areas had been sold to Mr George Buckley, and Mr " Jock,' Maclean, of Bank of New Zealand notoriety. He showed that almoat all the land of Canterbury went to speculators. That is the paint. The land has been disposed of, but no settlement has resulted from it. That was not the ease in Mr Ballance's time. No one who was not prepared to live on the land could get it.

Major Steward, the Member for Waimate, signified his intention to move for an enquiry into durnmyism in Canterbury. The Governments, in order to show off in the eyes of electors, determined to be before him, and so Mr Hißlop introduced a motion on the same subject in order to cut the legs from Major Stewart. One fact, however, remains. Mr Eichardson went into an elaborate defence of durnmyism in his speech to his constituents recently, and it will be interesting to know how he will reconcile this with the anxiety of the Government to prevent it. "While Mr Bftllance was Minister of Lands there was not a whisper about durnmyism. The dummies knew that it would be useless to try it. There was a great deal of noise about durnmyism before Mr Ballance came into power, and now it is admitted that it is rampant. That is the reason the dummies and their friends do not like Mr Ballance, that is the reason they dread his return to power. To power be will return, however, before long, There is no Vogel now to frighten the people with, and there is nothing against Mr Ballance only that he tried to settle the land. That is not enough to condemn him in the eyes of the country.

The opinion in Parliament is that tha Eegistration of Electors Bill is dead and will not be resusciated. bast year the bill was killed in the same way, and it was no great loss as it was intended to disfranchise half the people. One fact wortby of note is that the Government seem not to be able to do anything. Everything they attempt is flung back in their faces.. What a contemptible position they occupy ?